. >>> 94-year-old former south african president nelson mandela has been released from a johannesburg hospital after nearly three weeks of being treated for a lung infection and surgery to remove gall stones. >>> "the new york times" is reporting that a syrian military police chief who defected to turkey yesterday was actually in charge of preventing military defections. major general abdul aziz jasim al shalal is one of the highest ranking military officers to abandon bashar al assad. >>> in china, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. an office building tumbled into a pile of rubble this week, marking the end for the high-rises workspace for a chinese airline. it took 9,000 detonators and explosives to bring down that concrete giant. >>> officials in newtown, connecticut, have a message for well-wishers in the wake of the december school shooting that claimed 26 lives, please stop sending gifts. they say they are overwhelmed with all the stuffed animals and toys. >>> meanwhile, newtown officials say they have a plan for the flowers and gifts left at roadside tributes. nbc conne